1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a presser assembly for a blanking operation, and, more particularly, to a presser assembly for supporting blanking scrap, such as carton or paper blanking scrap during a blanking operation.
2. Description of Related Art
In the manufacture of cartons and paper products, small sheets of material are typically cut out of larger sheets. These smaller sheets are known as blanks that, in turn, may be further formed into various shapes, such as, by way of example, into boxes. The blanks are formed during a process known as a blanking operation. In a blanking operation, the blanks are cut, but not removed, from the large sheet of carton or paper material. After the blanks have been cut, the sheet is positioned over a frame for support. The frame typically includes large openings that correspond in size and in position to the blanks previously cut. Below the frame is a mechanism for stacking the blanks. In order to knock the carton blanks from the sheet of material and hold the scrap material, what is known in the art as a presser assembly is used. The presser assembly includes a support tool having a presser member and a presser rail depending therefrom. The presser rail is biased away from the support tool. As the support tool is lowered, the presser rail engages the sheet of material such that the sheet of material is secured between the presser rail and the frame. The support tool continues to be lowered such that the presser member engages the blanks and knocks the blank out of the sheet of material. The carton blanks fall onto a stacking mechanism wherein the blanks are stacked.
If the presser rail does not adequately hold the blanking scrap, the scrap may fall onto the stacking mechanism. A carton blanking scrap in the stacking mechanism may jam the mechanism thereby causing downtime and expense. In order to securely hold the carton blank scrap, the present day presser rails are interconnected to the support tool by a plurality of guide cylinders. Each guide cylinder biases the presser rail away from the support tool. This gives the presser rail a certain amount of flexibility when engaging the carton blanking scrap. However, even with this limited flexibility, present day presser rails and assemblies have been found to be inadequate and require substantial assembly and various parts. An example of such a presser assembly is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,565, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
The prior art fails to provide a presser assembly that offers a simple configuration which is less costly to manufacture and easier to assemble, and which is further easily and efficiently mountable to a backer board of a blanking device.
It is a purpose of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems.
To achieve the above purpose, the present invention provides a presser assembly for supporting blanking scrap during a blanking operation. The presser assembly includes: a support rail; a presser rail connected to the support rail; and a connecting rail connecting the presser rail to the support rail and being adapted to pivot with respect to at least one of the support rail and the presser rail through a predetermined pivot angle range. The pivot angle range is for changing a distance between the support rail and the presser rail to thereby selectively affect a folding and an unfolding of the presser assembly during the blanking operation.
The present invention further encompasses a kit for forming a presser assembly for supporting blanking scrap during a blanking operation. The kit includes: a support rail; a presser rail adapted to be connected to the support rail; and a connecting rail adapted to connect the presser rail to the support rail and adapted to pivot with respect to at least one of the support rail and the presser rail in an assembled state of the presser assembly. The pivoting is through a predetermined pivot angle range for changing a distance between the support rail and the presser rail thereby selectively effecting a folding and an unfolding of the presser assembly during the blanking operation.
Additionally, the present invention provides a method of using the presser assembly described above. The method comprises the steps of: pivoting the connecting rail with respect to at least one of the support rail and the presser rail for reducing an angle defined therebetween thereby folding the presser assembly for reducing a distance between the presser rail and the support rail; and pivoting the connecting rail with respect to at least one of the support rail and the presser rail for increasing an angle defined therebetween thereby unfolding the presser assembly for increasing a distance between the presser rail and the support rail.
Moreover, the present invention provides a presser assembly for supporting blanking scrap during a blanking operation, where the presser assembly includes: a support means; a presser means connected to the support means and supported thereby; and a connecting means for connecting the presser rail to the support rail and being adapted to pivot with respect to the presser rail through a predetermined pivot angle range for changing a distance between the presser rail and the support rail thereby selectively affecting a folding and an unfolding of the presser assembly during the blanking operation.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description. dr
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:
FIG. 1 is a front-elevational view of a preferred embodiment of a presser assembly according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective, partially cut-away portion of the presser assembly according to FIG. 1 showing a biasing mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a view similar to a mirror image of FIG. 2 showing a sliding mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a glide support according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5a is a view of a support end of one of the connecting rails of FIG. 1 shown connected to the support rail with the connecting rail in cross-section and partial cutaway;
FIG. 5b is a front-elevational view of the guide pin shown in FIG. 5a according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 5c is a front-elevational view of one of the locking rings shown in FIG. 5a according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.